Rugged road ahead for OSU men's basketball team

Already scuffling to form an identity, the Cowboys face a revealing stretch of games — five of six away from home — before Big 12 play opens on Jan. 4:

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY: Oklahoma's Keiton Page (12) goes for the ball behind Tulsa's David Wishon (15) during an NCAA men's college basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (TU), at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Wednesday: at Missouri State (4-2). The Bears won 26 games a year ago, finishing atop the Missouri Valley regular season standings, before a conference tournament upset cost them an NCAA bid. Only one starter returns, although it's a good one — conference Player of the Year Kyle Weems.

Saturday: vs. No. 15 Pitt (8-1), at Madison Square Garden. The Panthers' only loss came to No. 3 Syracuse. Senior guard Ashton Gibbs is an All-American candidate on a team that reloaded following a Big East championship run that landed it a No. 1 NCAA seed. Khem Birch, a 6-9 freshman forward, was rated the nation's No. 2 recruit.

Dec. 17: vs. New Mexico (6-2), Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Lobos, picked to win the Mountain West with four starters returning from a 22-13 squad, have been up and down so far. Still, they do own a neutral floor win over Boston College and a win at Arizona State, along with a home victory over Missouri State.